Arizona wins New Mexico Bowl in miracle finish

Arizona 49, Nevada 48: Matt Scott threw two short touchdown passes in the final 46 seconds and college football’s postseason started with a wild one when Arizona rallied past Nevada on Saturday.

Overcoming a slow start and three big turnovers, Arizona (8-5) recovered an onside kick in the last minute, setting up Scott’s 2-yard toss to Tyler Slavin with 19 seconds left for the winning score.

Arizona trailed, 21-0, in the first quarter and was down, 45-28, entering the final period. Scott threw for 382 yards and marched his team back into the game despite two earlier interceptions.

The nation’s rushing leader, Ka’Deem Carey, gained 172 yards for the Wildcats but fell short of becoming only the 16th running back in NCAA history to reach 2,000 yards in a season.

The teams combined for 1,237 total yards, the second most of any bowl game. Cody Fajardo threw for three touchdowns and ran for another score to lead the Wolf Pack (7-6). He had 256 yards passing and 140 yards rushing and controlled most of the game, completing 22 of 32 throws.

Stefphon Jefferson, the nation’s second-leading rusher, ran for 180 yards for Nevada and also seemed unstoppable as the Wolf Pack took a big lead and held on to it for most of the game.

Rich Rodriguez, in his first season as Arizona head coach, is now 3-5 in bowl game appearances.

Utah State 41, Toledo 15: Kerwynn Williams ran for 235 yards and three touchdowns and No. 18 Utah State won a bowl game for the first time in nearly 20 years, beating Toledo in Boise, Idaho.

The victory capped the best season in Utah State history. The Aggies finished 11-2, won the Western Athletic Conference title outright and had their first bowl victory since 1993.

Chuckie Keeton scored on a 62-yard run to put Utah State up, 7-3, and Williams sparked a 28-point fourth quarter for Utah State when he broke through the Toledo defense and raced 63 yards for a touchdown to put the Aggies up, 20-9.

Williams, who had 18 carries, followed that with TD runs of 5 and 25 yards. Keeton ran for 92 yards and was 21 of 31 passing for 229 yards.

Sam Houston State 45, Eastern Washington 42: Quarterback Brian Bell ran for two touchdowns and threw for another and Sam Houston State raced to a 35-0 halftime lead, but barely held on to beat second-seeded Eastern Washington, earning a trip to the FCS championship game.

The Bearkats (11-3) face top-seeded North Dakota State, which won last year’s matchup, 17-16, Jan. 5 in Frisco, Texas.

The win over Eastern Washington (11-3) was the Bearkats’ third straight over a Big Sky Conference team in the playoffs this year and fifth straight in the past two years.

DIVISION 2 CHAMPIONSHIP

Valdosta State 35, Winston-Salem State 7: Matt Pierce returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown and freshman Cedric O’Neal ran for 140 yards and a score to lead Valdosta State over Winston-Salem State in Florence, Ala. The Blazers (12-2) took a 21-0 halftime lead en route to their 10th straight win and first national title since 2007, coach David Dean’s debut season.

The Rams (14-1) were trying to become the first historically black school to win the Division 2 title. They lost in the semifinals last season.